In this breathtaking crime drama, director Tom Tykwer keeps his audience on a knife edge as teenager Lola (Franka Potente) tries to raise the money that will save her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) from a homicidal gangster. Tykwer pushes cinema to superhuman limits, presenting three scenarios and conclusions, and utilising a dazzling array of cinematic devices - jump cuts and replays, colour turning to monochrome, action sped to a blur - as Lola takes part in a desperate race against time. This is an awesome achievement from one of Germany's most innovative film-makers.

Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run.